Freshmen invite alumni 'home' for homecoming

Managing Editor |

Teaneck Suburbanite

By Megan Burrow

Teaneck High School

As high school freshmen walk through the doors of Teaneck High for the first time each September, they are following the footsteps of thousands before them, many who went on to reach remarkable heights since graduation.

Now, a program geared towards students in their first year seeks to tap into that rich legacy.

Last December, Olivia Betances, who ran the freshman orientation program last year, and teacher Regina Melnyk, this year's program coordinator, began a research project aimed at getting freshmen exited about being part of the Teaneck High School community.

Melnyk said they began the project after realizing the school's long list of notable alumni could be a valuable resource for current students.

"Everywhere you go there are people who have graduated from Teaneck High School doing incredible things. Teaneck High is a special place," she said. "We want freshmen coming into the high school to feel like a rookie player walking into Yankee Stadium, seeing names like Ruth and Gehrig, and thinking 'I want to be like that guy.'"

As part of the project teachers take students on a "mini-field trip" to the lobby of the high school, where a large plaque hangs. It bears the names of many notable alumni from throughout the school's history.

"When you look at the list of names, they may not be people you immediately recognize, but they are people who have done incredible things," said Melnyk. The teachers then talk with the students about the names on the plaque, and what it must have been like at the high school when those students walked its halls.

After returning to the classroom, students research who these alumni were, and what they accomplished since graduation.

This year, Melnyk said the teachers decided to begin the project in September. "We wanted to move it to the beginning of the year, so that when the students come in, they start to get excited about being part of the Teaneck High School community and the possibilities that are there for them as a Teaneck High alum," she explained. "But not only do we want them to get excited, we want them to learn something. That's where the research and writing element of the project comes in."

As the project's culminating activity, each freshman is asked to choose a Teaneck graduate to research, and after completing the research, write a letter to that person, inviting them "home" for homecoming.

Unfortunately, the recent storm delayed the project. The school missed six days due to power outages and the letters were sent late last week.

Still, Melnyk said, the students and teachers are hopeful they will get a good group of alumni returning to the school to meet with the freshmen.

"We're now trying to make lemons into lemonade and reach out to them in other ways," Melnyk said last Thursday. In addition to the letters, students reached out to the graduates they chose through Facebook and other social media sites.

"It's showing them how to use social media in a positive way, and demonstrates how people in the world present a public image of themselves," said Melnyk.

The class has been designing a Facebook page dedicated to the project, where each graduate researched will be designated with a "mile marker," a nod to the Teaneck Highwayman mascot, which will outline their achievements.

"The idea is that all alums will be awarded this "mile marker" by the freshman class," explained Melnyk. "It's a way to connect the graduates to the current students, and teach the freshmen about the school's rich legacy."

Elizabeth Leer, one of the students in the program, chose to research Anne Marsen, a friend of her older brother.

Marsen, a 2007 Teaneck graduate, is part of "Girl Walk//All Day," a feature-length music video that follows three dancers as they explore New York City.

Leer said she decided on her subject after realizing that although she had previously met Marsen through her brother, she wanted to learn more about her work.

"It's really exciting," Leer said of the project. "It just shows us all of the possibilities that are out there."

Freshmen invite alumni 'home' for homecoming

As high school freshmen walk through the doors of Teaneck High for the first time each September, they are following the footsteps of thousands before them, many who went on to reach remarkable heights since graduation.

Now, a program geared towards students in their first year seeks to tap into that rich legacy.

Last December, Olivia Betances, who ran the freshman orientation program last year, and teacher Regina Melnyk, this year's program coordinator, began a research project aimed at getting freshmen exited about being part of the Teaneck High School community.

Melnyk said they began the project after realizing the school's long list of notable alumni could be a valuable resource for current students.

"Everywhere you go there are people who have graduated from Teaneck High School doing incredible things. Teaneck High is a special place," she said. "We want freshmen coming into the high school to feel like a rookie player walking into Yankee Stadium, seeing names like Ruth and Gehrig, and thinking 'I want to be like that guy.'"

As part of the project teachers take students on a "mini-field trip" to the lobby of the high school, where a large plaque hangs. It bears the names of many notable alumni from throughout the school's history.

"When you look at the list of names, they may not be people you immediately recognize, but they are people who have done incredible things," said Melnyk. The teachers then talk with the students about the names on the plaque, and what it must have been like at the high school when those students walked its halls.

After returning to the classroom, students research who these alumni were, and what they accomplished since graduation.

This year, Melnyk said the teachers decided to begin the project in September. "We wanted to move it to the beginning of the year, so that when the students come in, they start to get excited about being part of the Teaneck High School community and the possibilities that are there for them as a Teaneck High alum," she explained. "But not only do we want them to get excited, we want them to learn something. That's where the research and writing element of the project comes in."

As the project's culminating activity, each freshman is asked to choose a Teaneck graduate to research, and after completing the research, write a letter to that person, inviting them "home" for homecoming.

Unfortunately, the recent storm delayed the project. The school missed six days due to power outages and the letters were sent late last week.

Still, Melnyk said, the students and teachers are hopeful they will get a good group of alumni returning to the school to meet with the freshmen.

"We're now trying to make lemons into lemonade and reach out to them in other ways," Melnyk said last Thursday. In addition to the letters, students reached out to the graduates they chose through Facebook and other social media sites.

"It's showing them how to use social media in a positive way, and demonstrates how people in the world present a public image of themselves," said Melnyk.

The class has been designing a Facebook page dedicated to the project, where each graduate researched will be designated with a "mile marker," a nod to the Teaneck Highwayman mascot, which will outline their achievements.

"The idea is that all alums will be awarded this "mile marker" by the freshman class," explained Melnyk. "It's a way to connect the graduates to the current students, and teach the freshmen about the school's rich legacy."

Elizabeth Leer, one of the students in the program, chose to research Anne Marsen, a friend of her older brother.

Marsen, a 2007 Teaneck graduate, is part of "Girl Walk//All Day," a feature-length music video that follows three dancers as they explore New York City.

Leer said she decided on her subject after realizing that although she had previously met Marsen through her brother, she wanted to learn more about her work.

"It's really exciting," Leer said of the project. "It just shows us all of the possibilities that are out there."